Russia said on Tuesday that the U.S. test of a ground-launched
cruise missile was regrettable and showed that Washington had long been
preparing for the demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, TASS
news agency reported.
The Pentagon said on Monday
that it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its
target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, the first such test since
the United States pulled out of the treaty.
Commenting on the test,
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia would not be drawn
into an arms race and that Moscow still did not intend to deploy missiles
unless the United States did so first, the report said.